Hugh Freeze’s wife Jill probably saw this week’s bye week on Auburn’s schedule and thought, “Thank heavens, Hugh can finally get to that honey-do list.”

Since being hired as Auburn’s head football coach last November, Freeze likely hasn’t been able tackle too many chores at home.

First it was assembling a coaching staff that consumed his time, then doing his best to build a competitive roster via shopping in the transfer portal, then SEC Media Days, then a summer of recruiting, then Big Cat Weekend, then fall camp.

Next thing you know, it’s September and there are football games to be won.

There’s been little time for Freeze to take a breath since he got to The Plains. Heck, even last week as he and the Tigers prepared to take on the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, Freeze said he nearly forgot his own birthday.

“Georgia will make you not think about your birthday,” he joked on the day of his 54th birthday last Wednesday.

Chances are there are still family photos to be hung on the walls, a squeaky cabinet to be silenced and boy, if he doesn’t tidy up the garage before too much longer, Ms. Jill might have a fit.

Unfortunately for Ms. Freeze – who is likely well accustomed to being a coach’s wife by now – her husband is likely taking one look at that list this week and saying something along the lines of, “Sorry, sweetheart. I promise to get to it eventually.”

Sitting at 3-2 on the season and the seven games still on the slate, Freeze and his Auburn football team still have a lot to handle.

And the Tigers’ free week this week is a perfect opportunity to do some of it.

So while the it’s not coming from the desk of his wife, Freeze still has a honey-do list of sorts to tackle this week. Here are a few things that might be featured on that list:

It’s time to hash out play-calling duties

After the Auburn offense fell flat on its face against Texas A&M on Sept. 23, it was forced to take a long, hard look in the mirror at itself.

What in the world was this offense going to look like?

“Offensively, we’re searching,” Freeze said following the 27-10 loss. “And we’ve got to find some answers.”

In the moment, Freeze wasn’t sure where he was going to find those answers.

However, he did know he wasn’t going to find them by abandoning RPO play calls, which offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery did against the Aggies in a game that saw the Tigers’ offense neglect to find the end zone.

“The week before, we were very effective in the RPO game,” Freeze said the Monday following the loss in College Station. “And in this game, we threw zero RPOs. That’s not something I’m happy about.”

Since July, Freeze assured Montgomery was hired at Auburn to call plays. But after being frustrated by the decisions made in the game against Texas A&M, Freeze couldn’t help but wonder if it might be time to step in.

In the days leading up to Saturday’s game against No. 1 Georgia, Freeze admitted that he was more involved in the offensive game plan than usual.

That said, Freeze never completely ripped away the call sheet from Montgomery and instead said he “approved every call”.

“(Freeze will) call his own plays every now and then but coach Mont, he’s still running the show,” Auburn running back Brian Battie said after Auburn’s 27-20 loss to Georgia.

The Tigers’ offense was more balanced in the loss to the Bulldogs. Not to mention, Auburn was able to move the ball much more effectively against the No. 1 team in the country than it did the week prior against an unranked Texas A&M squad.

RPO plays also returned to the call sheet and more often than not, Auburn capitalized on them.

But how will the play-calling situation shake out moving forward? That’s on Freeze’s bye-week list to figure out.

“It’s a constant evolving thing,” Freeze said Monday. “This week, a lot of discussions will take place.”

Find solutions the issues on third down

In their loss to Georgia on Saturday, the Tigers couldn’t find any success – on either side of the football – on third down.

“I think you look back at this game, you look at third downs,” Freeze said following the game. “You look at our third-down offense and you look at our third-down defense, and I think that’s where the game was lost for us.”

Offensively, Auburn was just 2-for-12 on third down.

The Tigers’ offense averaged needing 7.2 yards to convert on third down and only faced a third-and-long situation three times. But more times than not, the Auburn offense simply could not find ways to stay on the field.

On the other side of the football, the story was the opposite: The Auburn defense couldn’t find a way to get off the field, allowing the Georgia offense to convert eight of 13 third-down tries. All the while, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck – in his first road start – went 8-for-10 for 115 yards on third down alone.

That can’t happen. But it did, and it wasn’t the first time.

Auburn also struggled on third down against Texas A&M the week prior, when the offense converted just three of 15 attempts and the defense allowed the Aggies to convert 5-of-12 third down tries.

Through five games, Auburn’s offense ranks 105th of 133 teams in the FBS as the Tigers have taken 63 offensive snaps on third down but have only converted 22 of them.

Meanwhile, Auburn’s defense ranks 39th in the country on third down defense as Opposing offenses have tried for 63 third downs and have converted 23 of them.

“The critical downs have been somewhere we have got to change that,” Freeze said during the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday. “You look at the Georgia game, the critical downs on 3rd and 4th in the fourth quarter really told the story of the game.”

Freeze added that correcting those issues boils down to awareness, planning and execution.

Improve the passing game

Though Auburn’s passing attack looked the best is has against Power 5 competition against the top-ranked Bulldogs Saturday, it still left plenty to be desired.

For the second week in a row, the Tigers’ quarterbacks finished with less than 100 yards of passing through an entire game. Fortunately for Auburn, its ground game was able to find its stride against Georgia but Freeze still has to find a way get Auburn’s offense more balanced.

“We’re still searching a bit, not so much in the running game, Freeze said. “But in the pass game as to what we really look like and who we’re really going to be.”

The good news for Auburn fans is that historically, Freeze has been known for his balanced offenses.

The bad news for Auburn fans is that it could take time, especially considering how many factors go into the Tigers’ success – or lack of thereof – in the passing game.

“When I say that, I do not say that that’s all on the quarterback. A lot of it is on receiver play, coaches,” Freeze said. “Is it a combination of protections and the quarterback?”

Perhaps some of Auburn’s struggles in the pass game have to do with the play-calling situation between Freeze and Montgomery.

On Saturday, some of the mess had to do with Auburn’s receivers not holding up on their end of the bargain as six of Payton Thorne’s nine incompletions hit his respective target in the hands.

“I thought Payton (Thorne), of his nine incompletions Saturday, I really felt like five of those should have been caught,” Freeze said. “And that makes a difference in those games and it makes a difference in how you perceive the play of a quarterback.”

Surely the offensive line plays a critical role in the prospective success of the pass game, too. Against Texas A&M two weeks ago, the Auburn offensive line was as porous as ever as it allowed 15 negative plays and seven sacks.

Following that same game, Thorne was a whipping post for criticism after being benched in the third quarter against the Aggies. Freeze said the Tigers had receivers open, but for one reason or another, Thorne missed them.

“It’s a combination and we’re still searching some. I’ve been honest about that, and we’ve got to improve.”